September 2012 – Page 13 – NBA Blog

AAU president Louis Stout dead at 73

Louis Stout, president of the national Amateur Athletic Union and one of America’s most prominent leaders in the sports world, died early this morning at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.

Stout, 73, widely credited with asserting strong and decisive leadership to adopt new policies that better protect hundreds of thousands of AAU youth athletes from any type of abuse, has been highly regarded for decades as one of the sporting world’s leading administrators, educators and coaches. During a distinguished career that dates back to the early 1960’s, Stout championed positive ideals and goals for thousands of young people

“In our greatest hour of need, Louis demonstrated the vision and determination to positively change the AAU culture into a higher level of safety and protection,” said Henry Forrest, AAU acting president, of Stout, who was just 30 days from retirement from the AAU board when he assumed the role of president. “He will be forever remembered as the architect who established the highest standards for safety and protection at AAU and for ensuring our program’s continued success.”

— Reported by AAUnews.org

Derrick Rose plays role of pizza waiter

Derrick Rose is now an equity partner and national spokesperson for Giordano’s Pizza, but on Thursday the Bulls star and former NBA MVP briefly played the role of a Giordano’s waiter.

Rose visited Giordano’s on Rush Street hours after his involvement with the restaurant franchise had been announced and decided to surprise one table by personally delivering their pizza to them.

— Reported by Luis Gomez of the Chicago Tribune

Allan Houston sold Marcus Camby on return to Knicks

The Knicks’ reunion with Marcus Camby almost never happened.

The veteran center, who signed a three-year contract in July, admitted his return to Madison Square Garden after an 11-year hiatus should be credited to a last-minute phone call from one of his former Knicks teammates.

“I was on my way to Miami, about to go to the airport to go to Miami when I got the call from Allan [Houston],” Camby said. “I played with Allan for four years in New York, and he was like, ‘Just come, sit down and have a meeting with us.’ So I took the meeting with him and Coach [Mike Woodson] and they pretty much talked me out of going down to Miami to take that visit.”

Camby played with Houston on the Knicks from 1998-2001 and was part of the 1999 team that made it to the NBA Finals. When it boiled down to picking New York or Miami, Camby just had to look back to the playoff wars the teams had over a decade ago.

— Reported by Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Post

Reggie Miller admits he shoved Greg Anthony in 1995

Knick nemesis Reggie Miller admitted on Friday that he committed a foul during his infamous eight-points-in-nine-seconds run in Game 1 of the 1995 playoffs which propelled the Indiana Pacers to an improbable come from behind win.

Miller finally admitted that he shoved Greg Anthony and held him on the ground before the steal that set up the second of his back-to-back 3-pointers.

“In 1995, as you saw on the video, yeah, I pushed,” Miller said Friday during his Hall of Fame induction speech. “I’m sorry. The ref didn’t call it, I went with it.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

Knicks may have offered Isiah Thomas a job

According to a source close to the former Knicks president, Thomas and Garden chairman James Dolan have had numerous discussions about a position in the organization, but Thomas has been reluctant to accept the job offer.

“Isiah is very close with Jim Dolan but he’s told me that he’s not ready to jump back into the NBA just yet,” said the source, who was with Thomas on Friday at the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield, Mass. “There’s this perception out there that Isiah is desperate to get back, but that’s false. I think it will eventually happen but just not now.”

Thomas, who presented inductee Chet Walker at the ceremony, did not return phone calls on Saturday. One day earlier, he was spotted in a Manhattan hotel having breakfast with Dolan, which according to the source is not uncommon.

“They’re friends. They talk all the time,” the source added.

— Reported by Frank Isola of the New York Daily News

Raptors may want Mickael Pietrus

I do know there has been some internal discussion of Pietrus, who remains arguably the best player without a contract.

But the fact is, these guys don’t have the money to pay him, a lot of their exceptions were eaten up by the likes of Aaron Gray, Alan Anderson and John Lucas, all of whom fill roles.

Now, I do think they should call Pietrus’s agent and see if he’d be willing to work on a minimum-value deal and I presume that call will be made, it’s only prudent business to do so. However, I doubt a team like Toronto for a minimum value deal would be attractive to Pietrus, who will probably wind up with the same kind of deal on a better team, even if the Raps could offer him a chance at more playing time than some legitimate title contender whose roster is now basically filled.

— Reported by Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (Blog)

Knicks owner reportedly meets with Isiah Thomas

Knicks owner James Dolan staged a business meeting with Isiah Thomas yesterday morning at the Mandarin Hotel in Midtown, according to a person familiar with the situation.

A band of security men surrounded the two men who were both dressed in business suits in a quiet corner of the lobby. Thomas has lobbied to return to the organization

since he was fired as the Florida International basketball coach last spring. The meeting took place two days after the resignation of MSG sports president Scott O’Neil, who, according to a source, helped convince Dolan rehiring Thomas wasn’t a good move for the Knicks brand.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Don Nelson wanted Kings coaching job in 2006

While watching the Basketball Hall of Fame inductions Friday in Springfield, Mass., I couldn’t help but wonder how much better off the Kings would have been if Don Nelson had been approached about the coaching vacancy after Rick Adelman was released at the end of the 2005-06 season.

In the ensuing six seasons – none of which included a winning record – Geoff Petrie hired Eric Musselman, Reggie Theus, Kenny Natt, Paul Westphal and Keith Smart.

Nelson, who was retired and living in Maui at the time, left a private voice mail message for Petrie expressing his interest in the opening, but he never received a return call.

— Reported by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

Rafael Hettsheimeir not close to being a Maverick

While taking in the basketball hall of fame enshrinement, several members of the Mavericks’ front office were on hand and as president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said, the Mavericks have a roster full with 15 players possessing guaranteed contracts.

That leaves little room for Brazil’s Rafael Hettsheimeir, a 6-10, 260-pound center who has drawn the attention of several NBA teams. The 26-year-old plays in the Spanish League and some international reports have suggested that the Mavericks have offered him a deal.

— Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News

Phil Knight bio video

Below is a 2.5 minute bio video on Phil Knight, who helped make Nike a global powerhouse: